Originally Posted by
AMA 74894
I'm a traditional kit builder from way back (back in THOSE days the big discussion was 'why doesn't anybody SCRATCH BUILD anymore....') undoubtedly the fact that you can now buy a factory built arf for less than the price of an older kit + covering + glue has a HUGE impact. IF your main passion for RC is flying and not building, then why wouldn't you buy an ARF vs a kit. I know a lot of folks that can fly like nobody's business, but couldn't build a kite (not a KIT... a KITE
) if their lives depended on it.
Jim, I'm not too far behind you as my AMA# is 74677. I remember kits were so competitive that kits were sometimes cheaper than buying the wood. One might have to use the kit balsa stamped or die crunched pieces as templates to make a few parts from good balsa, but I didn't mind this as the kit prices were cheap.
I think the guys that get the short end of the stick are the ones who truly ENJOY Kit Building. (and of course the kit manufacturers here in the states) The other side of that (ARF) coin of course is that although people new to the sport do not have to spend countless hours building a trainer (and very possibly turn it back into a kit on the first flight) they also do not learn how to build (and repair) some manufacturers build works of art, jig built and straight as an arrow. others, well not so much.
True, some suffer quality control issues, which turn into flight safety issues.
at the end of the day I really do think it's simply a matter of convenience and of cost. if you were going to choose between two transmitters, each with the same price, one ready to use and the other a box full of circuit boards, resistors, and a soldering iron... which would you choose?
Back in the late 1970's, I assembled and soldered my own Charlie's R/C (Cannon 810) 4 channel mini-R/C system from a kit. Reason why I did this is because the kit was cheaper than the finished product and I had electronics assembly skills. Nowadays they are cheap. What you can now buy for 4 or 6 channels already assembled is cheaper than what I paid for an Ace R/C Pulse Commander single channel radio. Only reason why I have purchased any new ARF's is that I have older ones yet to fully assembles.
if, 'back in the day' you could purchase a brand new factory built Kaos for $99.00, they would have sold out in an hour.
True. I remember buying a Lanier Pinto 3 channel ARF on sale at Tower Hobbies for $70 in the early 1980's.
Originally Posted by
hookedonrc
Well sort of.... In my case I have built from a kit....don't like to and that won't change. HOWEVER, that said I would still build periodically except for a couple of things. I am allergic to CA and when I build that amount of exposure causes my eyes to swell almost shut. And balsa dust plays havoc with my kings. I have tried a respirator, but just can't seem to get used to it.
I don't use CA much; use Titebond Aliphatic Resin carpenter's glue. If you are allergic to balsa dust, that is a good reason to find a way to cope.
Another, but less important issue is that the only hobby shop left is Hobby Town. I am 35 miles away and just dropping by to talk with other flyers doesn't happen, and the prices are inflated. And if that isn't enough try asking for advice or just a question.
The one in Kansas City, MO has good folks. Ditto for the two hobby shops in Amarillo, Texas. I guess it just depends on who and why.